The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A print from Wonders of the Past, Volume I, 1933-1934. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images) Share By Jen Rosenberg, Contributing Writer The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a large and ornate mausoleum built both to honor and hold the remains of Mausolus of Caria. When Mausolus died in 353 BCE, his wife Artemisia ordered the construction of this vast structure in their capital city, Halicarnassus (now called Bodrum) in modern Turkey . Ultimately, both Mausolus and Artemisia were buried inside. The Mausoleum, considered one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World , retained its grandeur for nearly 1,800 years, until earthquakes in the 15th century destroyed part of the structure.

Eventually, nearly all of the stone was taken away to be used in nearby building projects, particularly for a Crusader castle. Who Was Mausolus? Upon the death of his father in 377 BCE, Mausolus became the satrap (a regional governor in the Persian Empire) for Caria. Although only a satrap, Mausolus was like a king in his realm, ruling for 24 years. Mausolus was descended from the indigenous herdsmen of the area, called Carians, but appreciated Greek culture and society. continue reading below our video 10 Best Universities in the United States Thus, Mausolus encouraged the Carians to leave their lives as herdsmen and embrace the Greek way of life. Mausolus was also all about expansion. He moved his capital city from Mylasa to the coastal city of Halicarnassus and then worked on a number of projects to beautify the city, including building a large palace for himself. Mausolus was also politically savy and was thus able to add several nearby cities to his realm.

When Mausolus died in 353 BCE, his wife Artemisia, who also happened to be his sister, was grief stricken. She wanted the most beautiful tomb built for her departed husband. Sparing no expense, she hired the very best sculptors and architects that money could buy. It is unfortunate that Artemisia died just two years after her husband, in 351 BCE, not seeing the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus completed. What Did the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus Look Like? Built from about 353 to 350 BCE, there were five famous sculptors that worked on the exquisite tomb. Each sculptor had a portion that they were responsible for -- Bryaxis (north side), Scopas (east side), Timotheus (south side), and Leochares (west side). The chariot on top was created by Pythis. The structure of the Mausoleum was made up of three parts: a square base on the bottom, 36 columns (9 on each side) in the middle, and then topped by a stepped pyramid that had 24 steps.

All of this was covered in ornate carvings, with life-size and larger-than-life statues abounding. At the very top was the piece de resistance -- the chariot. This 25-foot-high marble sculpture consisted of standing statues of both Mausolus and Artemisia riding in a chariot pulled by four horses. Much of the Mausoleum was made out of marble and the entire structure reached 140 feet high. Although large, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was known more for its ornate sculptures and carvings. Most of these were painted in vibrant colors. There were also friezes that wrapped around the entire building. These were extremely detailed and included scenes of battle and hunting, as well as scenes from Greek mythology that included such mythic animals as centaurs. The Collapse After 1,800 years, the long-lasting Mausoleum was destroyed by earthquakes that occurred during the 15th century CE in the region. During and after that time, much of the marble was carried away in order to build other buildings, most especially a Crusader fortress held by the Knights of St. John. Some of the elaborate sculptures were moved into the fortress as decoration.

In 1522 CE, the crypt that for so long had safely held the remains of Mausolus and Artemisia was raided. Over time, people forgot exactly where the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus had stood. Houses were built on top. In the 1850s, British archaeologist Charles Newton recognized that some of the decorations at Bodrum Castle, as the Crusader fortress was now called, could have been from the famous Mausoleum. After studying the area and excavating, Newton found the site of the Mausoleum. Today, the British Museum in London contains statues and relief slabs from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Mausoleums Today Interestingly, the modern word "mausoleum," which means a building used as a tomb, comes from the name Mausolus, for whom this wonder of the world was named. The tradition of creating mausoleums in cemeteries continues around the world today. Families and individuals build mausoleums, both large and small, in their own or others' honor following their deaths.

In addition to these more common mausoleums, there are other, larger mausoleums that are tourist attractions today. The world's most famous mausoleum is the Taj Mahal in India. Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World - Ancient History - HISTORY.com Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World Author Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World URL A+E Networks Introduction The amazing works of art and architecture known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World serve as a testament to the ingenuity, imagination and sheer hard work of which human beings are capable. They are also, however, reminders of the human capacity for disagreement, destruction and, possibly, embellishment. As soon as ancient writers compiled a list of “seven wonders,” it became fodder for debate over which achievements deserved inclusion. Ultimately, human hands joined with natural forces to destroy all but one of the wonders. Furthermore, it is possible that at least one of the wonders might not have existed at all. Still, all seven continue to inspire and be celebrated as the remarkable products of the creativity and skill of Earth’s early civilizations.

Google Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt The Great Pyramids, located at Giza on the west bank of the Nile River north of Cairo, are the only wonder of the ancient world that has survived to the present day. The three pyramids–Khufu (Cheops), Khafra (Chephren) and Menkaura (Mycerimus)–were built between 2700 B.C. and 2500 B.C. as royal tombs. The largest and most impressive is Khufu, which covers 13 acres and is believed to contain more than 2 million stone blocks that weigh from two to 30 tons each. For more than 4,000 years, Khufu reigned as the tallest building in the world. In fact, it took modern man until the 19th century to build a taller structure. Amazingly, the nearly symmetrical pyramids were built without the aid of modern tools or surveying equipment. Scientists believe that the Egyptians used log rollers and sledges to move the stones into place. The sloped walls, which were intended to mimic the rays of Ra, the sun god, were originally built as steps, and then filled in with limestone.

The interior of the pyramids included narrow corridors and hidden chambers in an unsuccessful attempt to foil grave robbers. Although modern archeologists have found some great treasures among the ruins, they believe most of what the pyramids once contained was looted within 250 years of their completion. Did You Know? The Colossus of Rhodes was an inspiration for the Statue of Liberty. Hanging Gardens of Babylon According to ancient Greek poets, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built near the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq by the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar II around 600 B.C. The gardens were said to have been planted as high as 75 feet in the air on a huge square brick terrace that was laid out in steps like a theater. The king allegedly built the towering gardens to ease his lover Amytis’ homesickness for the natural beauty of her home in Media (the northwestern part of modern-day Iran). Later writers described how people could walk underneath the beautiful gardens, which rested on tall stone columns.

Modern scientists have deduced that for the gardens to survive they would have had to be irrigated using a system consisting of a pump, waterwheel and cisterns to carry water from the Euphrates many feet into the air. Though there are multiple accounts of the gardens in both Greek and Roman literature, none of them are firsthand, and no mention of the gardens has been found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. As a result, most modern scholars believe that the existence of the gardens was part of an inspired and widely believed but still fictional tale. Statue of Zeus at Olympia The famed statue of Zeus was crafted by the Athenian sculptor Phidias and completed and placed in the temple of Zeus at Olympia, site of the ancient Olympics, around the mid-fifth century B.C. The statue depicted the god of thunder seated bare-chested at a wooden throne. Holding up the thrones’ armrests were two carved sphinxes, mythical creatures with the head and chest of a woman, the body of lion and the wings of a bird. The statue of Zeus was richly decorated with gold and ivory. At 40 feet, it was so tall that its head nearly touched the top of the temple.

According to legend, the sculptor Phidias asked Zeus for a sign of his approval after finishing the statue; soon after, the temple was struck by lightning. The Zeus statue graced the temple at Olympia for more than eight centuries before Christian priests persuaded the Roman emperor to close the temple in the fourth century A.D. At that time, the statue was moved to a temple in Constantinople, where it is believed to have been destroyed in a fire in the year 462. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus There was actually more than one Temple of Artemis: A series of several altars and temples was destroyed and then restored on the same site in Ephesus, a Greek port city on the west coast of modern-day Turkey. The most fabulous of these structures were two marble temples built around 550 B.C. and 350 B.C., respectively. The former was designed by the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes and decorated by some of the most celebrated artists of the ancient world. The building burned on July 21, 356 B.C., according to legend the same night that Alexander the Great was born.

About six years later, the building of a new temple to replace it was begun. The new building was surrounded by marble steps that led to a more than 400-foot-long terrace. Inside stood 127 60-foot marble columns and a statue of Artemis. Archeologists disagree as to whether the building had an open-air ceiling or was topped with wood tiles. The temple was largely destroyed by Ostrogoths in A.D. 262, and it was not until the 1860s that archeologists dug up the first of the ruins of the temple’s columns at the bottom of the Cayster River. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Located in what is now southeastern Turkey, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb built by Artemisia for her husband, Mausolus, the king of Carnia in Asia Minor, after his death in 353 B.C. Mausolus was also Artemisia’s brother, and, according to legend, she was so grief-stricken at his passing that she mixed his ashes with water and drank them in addition to ordering the mausoleum’s construction.

The massive mausoleum was made entirely of white marble and is thought to have been about 135 feet high. The building’s complicated design, consisting of three rectangular layers, may have been an attempt to reconcile Lycian, Greek and Egyptian architectural styles. The first layer was a 60-foot base of steps, followed by a middle layer of 36 Ionic columns and a stepped, pyramid-shaped roof. At the very top of the roof lay the tomb, decorated by the work of four sculptors, and a 20-foot marble rendition of a four-horse chariot. The mausoleum was largely destroyed in an earthquake in the 13th century and its remains were later used in the fortification of a castle. In 1846, pieces of one of the mausoleum’s friezes were extracted from the castle and now reside, along with other relics from the Halicarnassus site, in London’s British Museum. Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus was an enormous bronze sculpture of the sun god Helios built by the Rhodians over 12 years in the third century B.C.

The city was the target of a Macedonian siege early in the fourth century B.C. and, according to legend, the Rhodians sold the tools and equipment left behind by the Macedonians to pay for the Colossus. Designed by the sculptor Chares, the statue was, at 100 feet, the tallest of the ancient world. It was completed around 280 B.C. and stood for sixty years until it was toppled in an earthquake. It was never rebuilt. Hundreds of years later, Arabs invaded Rhodes and sold the remains of the statue as scrap metal. Because of this, archeologists do not know much about the exact location of the statue or what it looked like. Most believe that it depicted the sun god standing naked while he lifted a torch with one hand and held a spear in the other. It was once believed that the statue stood with one leg on each side of a harbor, but most scholars now agree that the statue’s legs were most likely built close together to support its immense weight. Lighthouse of Alexandria The Lighthouse of Alexandria was located on a small island called Pharos near the city of Alexandria. Designed by the Greek architect Sostratos and completed around 270 B.C.

during the reign of Ptolemy II, the lighthouse helped to guide Nile River ships in and out of the city’s busy harbor. Archeologists have found ancient coins on which the lighthouse was depicted, and from them deduced that the structure had three tiers: a square level at the bottom, an octagonal level in the middle and a cylindrical top. Above that stood a 16-foot statue, most likely of Ptolemy II or Alexander the Great, for whom the city was named. Although estimates of the lighthouse’s height have ranged from 200 to 600 feet, most modern scholars believe it was about 380 feet tall. The lighthouse was gradually destroyed during a series of earthquakes from 956 to 1323. Some of its remains have since been discovered at the bottom of the Nile. Tags Mausoleum of Halicarnassus - the full story London, British Museum: Reiter vom Mausoleum At the very top of the tomb was a twenty-four-step pyramid surmounted by a marble chariot twenty-five feet tall.

The marble base contained a room in which both Mausolus, of whom the tomb was built for, and his wife Artemisia were to be entombed. The Mausoleum had a perimeter of 411 feet (125 meters). It was built to be known for its beauty, richness, and grace. The Mausoleum overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for many centuries. It was untouched when the city fell to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C. and still undamaged after attacks by pirates in 62 and 58 B.C.. It stood above the city ruins for some 17 centuries. Then a series of earthquakes shattered the columns and sent the stone chariot crashing to the ground. By 1404 A.D. only the very base of the Mausoleum was still recognizable. Crusaders, who had occupied the city from the thirteen century onward, recycled the broken stone into their own buildings.

In 1522 rumours of a Turkish invasion caused Crusaders to strengthen the castle at Halicarnassus (which was by then known as Bodrum) and much of the remaining portions of the tomb was broken up and used within the castle walls. Indeed sections of polished marble from the tomb can still be seen there today. In 1846 the Museum sent the archaeologist Charles Thomas Newton to search for more remains of the Mausoleum. He had a difficult job. He didn't know the exact location of the tomb and the cost of buying up all the small parcels of land in the area to look for it would have been astronomical. Instead Newton studied the accounts of ancient writers like Pliny to obtain the approximate size and location of the memorial, then bought a plot of land in the most likely location. Digging down, Newton explored the surrounding area through tunnels he dug under the surrounding plots. He was able to locate some walls, a staircase, and finally three of the corners of the foundation. With this knowledge, Newton was able to figure out which plots of land he needed to buy. Newton then excavated the site and found sections of the reliefs that decorated the wall of the building and portions of the stepped roof.

Also a broken stone chariot wheel, some seven feet in diameter, from the sculpture on the roof was discovered. Finally, he found the statues of Mausolus and Artemisia that had stood at the pinnacle of the building. Today these works of art stand in the Mausoleum Room at the British Museum. There the images of Mausolus and his queen forever watch over the few broken remains of the beautiful tomb she built for him. one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The monument was the tomb of Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria in southwestern Asia Minor, and was built between about 353 and 351 BC by Mausolus' sister and widow, Artemisia. The architect was Pythius (or Pytheos), and the sculptures that adorned the building were the work of four leading Greek artists: Scopas, Bryaxis, Leochares, and Timotheus. According to the description of the Roman author Pliny the Elder ( ad 23-79), the monument was almost square, with a total periphery of 411 feet (125 m).

It was bounded by 36 columns, and the top formed a 24-step pyramid surmounted by a four-horse marble chariot. Fragments of the mausoleum's sculpture that are preserved in the British Museum include a frieze of battling Greeks and Amazons and a statue 10 feet (3 m) long, probably of Mausolus. The mausoleum was probably destroyed by an earthquake between the 11th and the 15th century AD, and the stones were reused in local buildings. I have lying, over me in Halicarnassus, a gigantic monument such as no other dead person has, adorned in the finest way with statues of horses and men carved most realistically from the best quality marble. King Maussollos in Lucian's "Dialogues of the Dead" Note: The color painting at the top of the page is of artistic nature and does not necessarily represent an accurate reconstruction of the Wonder. Painting by Mario Larrinaga. Similar to the Great Pyramid , we are now visiting the burial place of an ancient king.

Yet the Mausoleum is different - so different from the Pyramid that it earned its reputation - and a spot within the list - for other reasons. Geographically, it is closer to the Temple of Artemis ... And it was the beauty of the tomb rather than its size that fascinated its visitors for years. Location In the city of Bodrum (f.k.a. Halicarnassus) on the Aegean Sea, in south-west Turkey . History When the Persians expanded their ancient kingdom to include Mesopotamia, Northern India, Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor, the king could not control his vast empire without the help of local governors or rulers -- the Satraps. Like many other provinces, the kingdom of Caria in the western part of Asia Minor (Turkey) was so far from the Persian capital that it was practically autonomous. From 377 to 353 BC, king Mausollos of Caria reigned and moved his capital to Halicarnassus. Nothing is exciting about Maussollos life except the construction of his tomb. The project was conceived by his wife and sister Artemisia, and the construction might have started during the king's lifetime.

The Mausoleum was completed around 350 BC, three years after Maussollos death, and one year after Artemisia's. For 16 centuries, the Mausoleum remained in good condition until an earthquake caused some damage to the roof and colonnade. In the early fifteenth century, the Knights of St John of Malta invaded the region and built a massive crusader castle. When they decided to fortify it in 1494, they used the stones of the Mausoleum. By 1522, almost every block of the Mausoleum had been disassembled and used for construction. Today, the massive castle still stands in Bodrum, and the polished stone and marble blocks of the Mausoleum can be spotted within the walls of the structure. Some of the sculptures survived and are today on display at the British Museum in London . These include fragment of statues and many slabs of the frieze showing the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. At the site of the Mausoleum itself, only the foundation remains of the once magnificent Wonder.

Description The structure was rectangular in plan, with base dimensions of about 40 m (120 ft) by 30 m (100 ft). Overlying the foundation was a stepped podium which sides were decorated with statues. The burial chamber and the sarcophagus of white alabaster decorated with gold were located on the podium and surrounded by Ionic columns. The colonnade supported a pyramid roof which was in turn decorated with statues. A statue of a chariot pulled by four horses adorned the top of the tomb. The total height of the Mausoleum was 45 m (140 ft). This is broken down into 20 m (60 ft) for the stepped podium, 12 m (38 ft) for the colonnade, 7 m (22 ft) for the pyramid, and 6 m (20 ft) for the chariot statue at the top. The beauty of the Mausoleum is not only in the structure itself, but in the decorations and statues that adorned the outside at different levels on the podium and the roof.

These were tens of life-size as well as under and over life-size free-standing statues of people, lions, horses, and other animals. The statues were carved by four Greek sculptors: Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheus, each responsible for one side. Because the statues were of people and animals, the Mausoleum holds a special place in history as it was not dedicated to the gods of Ancient Greece. Since the nineteenth century, archeological excavations have been undertaken at the Mausoleum site. These excavations together with detailed descriptions by ancient historians give us a fairly good idea about the shape and appearance of the Mausoleum. A modern reconstruction of the shorter side of the Mausoleum illustrates the lavish nature of the art and architecture of the building... a building for a King whose name is celebrated in all large tombs today -- mausoleums. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Copyright Lee Krystek, 1998 In 377 B.C., the city of Halicarnassus was the capitol of a small kingdom along the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor.

It was in that year the ruler of this land, Hecatomnus of Mylasa, died and left control of the kingdom to his son, Mausolus. Hecatomnus, a local satrap to the Persians, had been ambitious and had taken control of several of the neighboring cities and districts. Mausolus in his time, extended the territory even further so that it finally included most of southwestern Asia Minor. Mausolus, with his queen Artemisia, ruled over Halicarnassus and the surrounding territory for 24 years. Mausolus, though he was descended from the local people, spoke Greek and admired the Greek way of life and government. He founded many cities of Greek design along the coast and encouraged Greek democratic traditions. Then in 353 B.C. Mausolus died, leaving his queen Artemisia, who was also his sister (It was the custom in Caria for rulers to marry their own sisters), broken-hearted. As a tribute to him, she decided to build him the most splendid tomb in the known world.

It became a structure so famous that Mausolus's name is now associated with all stately tombs through our modern word mausoleum. The building was also so beautiful and unique it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Artemisia decided that no expense was to be spared in the building of the tomb. She sent messengers to Greece to find the most talented artists of the time. This included Scopas, the man who had supervised the rebuilding of the Temple to Artemis at Ephesus. Other famous sculptors such as Bryaxis, Leochares and Timotheus joined him as well as hundreds of other craftsmen. The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The whole structure sat in an enclosed courtyard. At the center of the courtyard was a stone platform on which the tomb itself sat. A staircase, flanked by stone lions, led to the top of this platform. Along the outer wall of this were many statues depicting gods and goddess. At each corner stone warriors, mounted on horseback, guarded the tomb. At the center of the platform was the tomb itself.

Made mostly of marble, the structure rose as a square, tapering block to about one-third of the Mausoleum's 140 foot height. This section was covered with relief sculpture showing action scenes from Greek myth/history. One part showed the battle of the Centaurs with the Lapiths. Another depicted Greeks in combat with the Amazons, a race of warrior women. On top of this section of the tomb thirty-six slim columns, nine per side, rose for another third of the height. Standing in between each column was another statue. Behind the columns was a solid block that carried the weight of the tomb's massive roof. The roof, which comprised most of the final third of the height, was in the form of a stepped pyramid. Perched on top was the tomb's penultimate work of sculpture: Four massive horses pulling a chariot in which images of Mausolus and Artemisia rode. Soon after construction of the tomb started Artemisia found herself in a crisis. Rhodes, an island in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Asia Minor, had been conquered by Mausolus.

When the Rhodians heard of his death they rebelled and sent a fleet of ships to capture the city of Halicarnassus. Knowing that the Rhodian fleet was on the way, Artemisa hid her own ships at a secret location at the east end of the city's harbor. After troops from the Rhodian fleet disembarked to attack, Artemisia's fleet made a surprise raid, captured the Rhodian fleet, and towed it out to sea. Artemisa put her own soldiers on the invading ships and sailed them back to Rhodes. Fooled into thinking that the returning ships were their own victorious navy, the Rhodians failed to put up a defense and the city was easily captured quelling the rebellion. Artemisa lived for only two years after the death of her husband. Both would be buried in the yet unfinished tomb. According to the historian Pliny, the craftsmen decided to stay and finish the work after their patron died "considering that it was at once a memorial of their own fame and of the sculptor's art." The Mausoleum overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for many centuries. It was untouched when the city fell to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C.

and still undamaged after attacks by pirates in 62 and 58 B.C.. It stood above the city ruins for some 17 centuries. Then a series of earthquakes shattered the columns and sent the stone chariot crashing to the ground. By 1404 A.D. only the very base of the Mausoleum was still recognizable. Crusaders, who had occupied the city from the thirteen century onward, recycled the broken stone into their own buildings. In 1522 rumors of a Turkish invasion caused Crusaders to strengthen the castle at Halicarnassus (which was by then known as Bodrum) and much of the remaining portions of the tomb was broken up and used within the castle walls. Indeed sections of polished marble from the tomb can still be seen there today. At this time a party of knights entered the base of the monument and discovered the room containing a great coffin. The party, deciding it was too late to open it that day, returned the next morning to find the tomb, and any treasure it may have contained, plundered. The bodies of Mausolus and Artemisia were missing too.

The Knights claimed that Moslem villagers were responsible for the theft, but it is more likely that some of the Crusaders themselves plundered the graves. Before grounding much of the remaining sculpture of the Mausoleum into lime for plaster the Knights removed several of the best works and mounted them in the Bodrum castle. There they stayed for three centuries. At that time the British ambassador obtained several of the statutes from the castle, which now reside in the British Museum. In 1846 the Museum sent the archaeologist Charles Thomas Newton to search for more remains of the Mausoleum. He had a difficult job. He didn't know the exact location of the tomb and the cost of buying up all the small parcels of land in the area to look for it would have been astronomical. Instead Newton studied the accounts of ancient writers like Pliny to obtain the approximate size and location of the memorial, then bought a plot of land in the most likely location. Digging down, Newton explored the surrounding area through tunnels he dug under the surrounding plots. He was able to locate some walls, a staircase, and finally three of the corners of the foundation. With this knowledge, Newton was able to figure out which plots of land he needed to buy.

Newton then excavated the site and found sections of the reliefs that decorated the wall of the building and portions of the stepped roof. Also a broken stone chariot wheel, some seven feet in diameter, from the sculpture on the roof was discovered. Finally, he found the statues of Mausolus and Artemisia that had stood at the pinnacle of the building. Today these works of art stand in the Mausoleum Room at the British Museum. There the images of Mausolus and his queen forever watch over the few broken remains of the beautiful tomb she built for him. The mausoleum of Halikarnassos (near Bodrum in modern day Turkey) is one of the ancient seven wonders in the world. The monument was according to some sources still standing in the 12th century AD. Between 1856 and 1858 Sir Charles Newton and in 1865 G.M.A. Biliotti excavated the ancient ruins. An nowdays the British Museum in London now houses some examples of sculpture and relief's from the mausoleum. On the original site there is nothing left but ruins.

On this page I present my series of photographs of the frieze of the mausoleum which I have in the British Museum taken in July 1999. All images contain a short description of the depicted scene. The relief's depict a battle between the Amazons and the Greek and were sculpted around 350 BC by four different artists. For more information on the story behind the images see the link to the Perseus Project below. The frieze can be read like a cartoon, hence the title of this article. The scenes are dramatic and dynamic The images on this page are displayed in the order that they are displayed in the British Museum. The names refer to the inventory number of the British Museum. You can either click on of the links below or go to the site map to see thumbnail images of each fotograph. MAUSOLEUM AT HALICARNASSUS 1924 01391 B udrum is a small Turkish port, with a ruined castle of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, beautifully situated on the coast of the Gulf of Kos at the south-west angle of Asia Minor.

The district was known in ancient times as Caria, and though nominally a province, or satrapy, of the great empire of Persia, its situation, shut of3! between the mountains and the sea at the extreme limits of the empire, secured for it a measure of independence. In the first half of the fourth century BCE the country was ruled by an active and warlike prince, Mausolus, who fixed his capital on the site of Budrum, anciently called Halicarnassus. On his death, in the year 353 BCE, his devoted widow, Artemisia, resolved to perpetuate his memory and appease her own sorrow by erecting for him the most splendid tomb ever known, and sent to Greece to secure the services of the most renowned artists of the age. The names of the architects were Satyros and Pythios.

The sculptors who were to adorn the structure were Scopas, the greatest Greek sculptor of the centuryï¿½famed above all for his power to express in stone the most passionate emotions and the most vivid movementï¿½Timotheos, Bryaxis, and Leochares, of whom less is now known, but who in their own age were considered second only to Scopas. Queen Artemisia reigned for only two years, and then died, consumed by wasting grief for the loss of her husband. The tomb was then still unfinished, but the artists resolved to complete it as a labour of love "for their own fame and a record of their skill." The result was a work of such magnificence and splendour that it ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and its name, the Mausoleum, has come generally to be employed to denote any elaborate sepulchre. Descriptions of the building have been handed down to us by more than one ancient writer, but, unfortunately, these are ambiguous and permit of interpretation in various ways, and the dimensions as recorded are suspected by some authorities.

There is thus considerable difference of opinion with regard to many details of the Mausoleum, and a large number of widely differing reconstructions have been produced. Generally speaking, however, the building was rectangular, with the short sides on the north and south; the lower storey, in which was the tombchamber, was solid; bans of sculpture ran round all four sides. Above this was a colonnade of thirty-six columns- of the Ionic order of rich golden-white marble, which was surmounted by a pyramid of twenty-four steps, and on the top of the pyramid was a chariot with four horses. The total height was one hundred and forty feet. What appeared to ancient sightseers the most remarkable feature of the building was the impression of lightness; the massive pyramid, poised on top of the slender colonnade, appeared to float in air. There is reason to believe that down to the twelfth century, or even later, the building survived practically undamaged. But in 1402 the Knights of St. John took possession of Halicarnassus and began to build on the site their castle of St. Peter.

To obtain the necessary building materials they pulled down the remains of the ancient city, and probably about this time the superstructures of the Mausoleum were destroyed. In 1472 the building was in ruins, and the last of these ruins was destroyed in 1522, when Sultan Suleiman was preparing his great expedition to drive the Knights out of Asia Minor and Rhodes. The Grand Master of the Order of St. John, realising the military importance of the castle at Budrum, ordered it to be put in repair. For this purpose the Knights broke up the base of the Mausoleum and burnt the marble blocks for lime. While doing this they broke into a large square chamber elaborately adorned with slabs and bands of marbles of different colours, with battle scenes sculptured in relief. The story goes that the finders at first admired these, and then broke them up. They then penetrated into an inner chamber containing a sarcophagus. As night was coming on they returned to the castle, and in the morning when they returned they found that this tomb had been robbed during the night by unknown pirates or brigands.

Thus the grave of Mausolus, after remaining inviolate for over eighteen centuries, was finally destroyed. Shortly afterwards the Knights of St. John were driven from Budrum by the Turks, and all recollection even of the site was lost. Although this wholesale destruction is recorded of the Knights, yet at times a desire seems to have prevailed to preserve and save some fragments of the priceless sculptures which otherwise would have been fed to their lime-kilns. At some unknown date a slab of carved frieze was sent to Genoa; other slabs were built into the walls of the castle into which a number of marble lions were also inserted. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Western travellers and merchants passing through Budrum observed these fragments, and it was rightly concluded that they must have been taken from the Mausoleum. In 1846 Lord Stratford de Redeliffe, then British Ambassador at Constantinople, obtained permission of the Sultan to remove to the British Museum twelve slabs forming part of the large frieze showing the combat of Greeks and Amazons. In 1856 Sir Charles Newton was allowed to remove the lions and also to excavate on the actual site.

The excavation revealed little more than the foundations and ground plan, and it was evident that the Knights had destroyed everything above ground. Scattered about in the vicinity of the site, however, were discovered a large number of fragments of architecture and sculpture, which with great labour were brought to England and put together in the Mausoleum Room of the British Museum. The most striking of the sculptures thus recovered are the fragments of the chariot group which surmounted the pyramid. The top step of the pyramid has been preserved, showing a horse's hoof in position. Large portions of the colossal bodies of the marble horses, decked out with harness of gilded bronze still remain, and it is conjectured that the two portrait statues of Mausolus and Queen Artemisia stood originally in the chariot, thus crowning the whole edifice. The portrait of Mausolus can be identified from his coins. It shows a bearded man, in the prime of life, richly robed, and with an expression of quiet dignity. The head of the companion statue is injured, so the identification as Artemisia, though extremely probable, is not certain; nor is it universally accepted that the statues did originally stand in the chariot.

Some authorities have preferred to suppose that they formed part of the groups of statuary scattered about and within the building, of which numerous fragments have been found. The other decorations of the Mausoleum take the form of three long bands of sculptured frieze which ran round the building, though the level at which they were applied cannot be determined. It has, however, been observed that the least important of the threc a frieze representing Greeks and Centaurs, of which very little remains - is less carefully finished than the others. Probably, therefore, it was placed high up, at some distance from the spectator's eye. Of the other two friezes one is narrow and of very fineworkmanship, but it survives only in small fragments. The subject is a chariot race. The third is the best preserved of all. Twelve complete slabs were taken out of the walls of the castle in 1846; four additional slabs, the finest of all, and hundreds of fragments were discovered during the excavations; and yet one other slab was obtained from a palace in Genoa in 1865. Thus pieced together, the frieze occupies the whole length of the room in the British Museum.

As was the invariable custom with Greek architectural ornaments, the whole frieze was originally bright with colour: blue background, red flesh, white, green, and gold drapery. The weapons of the combatants and harness of the horses were of bronze, and the holes for this metal embellishment may be observed along the whole length. The figures are slenderly proportioned and broadly spaced out against the background, which thereby gives due eSect to a certain fondness for oblique lines which is visible in the pose of the figures, nearly all of which are either lunging forward or drawing back with one leg straightened out down to the ground-line. The result is a wonderful spring and movement beating rhythmically along the whole length of the frieze. Never has the rush of battle been rendered with more vigour. Sculptures London, British Museum: Loewen vom Mausoleum At the very top of the tomb was a twenty-four-step pyramid surmounted by a marble chariot twenty-five feet tall. The marble base contained a room in which both Mausolus, of whom the tomb was built for, and his wife Artemisia were to be entombed.

The Mausoleum had a perimeter of 411 feet (125 meters). It was built to be known for its beauty, richness, and grace. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was built in approximately 353 B.C., and it was said to be one of the finest buildings in all of Halicarnassus. The Mausoleum's construction was ordered by Queen Artemisia to be a tomb and monument of King Mausolus. After his death, Queen Artemisia resolved to build him the most immaculate tomb the world had ever seen. She sent for the most gifted artist of that time period. Sculptors like Scopas who had helped rebuild the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and others such as Timotheus Bryaxis and Leochares. The architects who answered Artemisiaï¿½s call were Satyros and Pythias. In building the tomb no effort was made to out do the pyramids. Two years after her husband's death and the construction of the tomb began, Queen Artemisa died. At this time the tomb was still incomplete, however the sculptors resolved to finish their work.

The tomb became known as the mausoleum, and the word has passed into our language, as a word used to describe a large tomb. Earthquakes destroyed the Mausoleum in the fifteenth century, shattering the columns and sending the chariot crashing down. By 1404 AD only the square base remained intact, the rest of the stone was used by the Crusaders for building material. It was the Crusaders who discovered what was in the base of the monument, and it was during this time that a group of Crusaders ransacked the tomb stripping it of all its treasure. In 1897 a British archeologist named Newton began to excavate the remains. He found fragments of the chariot and uncovered statues of both Mausolos and Artemisia. The remains can be found in the Mausoleum Room of the British Museum. The Mausoleum overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for many centuries. It was untouched when the city fell to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C. and still undamaged after attacks by pirates in 62 and 58 B.C.. It stood above the city ruins for some 17 centuries.

Then a series of earthquakes shattered the columns and sent the stone chariot crashing to the ground. By 1404 A.D. only the very base of the Mausoleum was still recognizable. Crusaders, who had occupied the city from the thirteen century onward, recycled the broken stone into their own buildings. In 1522 rumours of a Turkish invasion caused Crusaders to strengthen the castle at Halicarnassus (which was by then known as Bodrum) and much of the remaining portions of the tomb was broken up and used within the castle walls. Indeed sections of polished marble from the tomb can still be seen there today. In 1846 the Museum sent the archaeologist Charles Thomas Newton to search for more remains of the Mausoleum. He had a difficult job. He didn't know the exact location of the tomb and the cost of buying up all the small parcels of land in the area to look for it would have been astronomical. Instead Newton studied the accounts of ancient writers like Pliny to obtain the approximate size and location of the memorial, then bought a plot of land in the most likely location. Digging down, Newton explored the surrounding area through tunnels he dug under the surrounding plots.

He was able to locate some walls, a staircase, and finally three of the corners of the foundation. With this knowledge, Newton was able to figure out which plots of land he needed to buy. Newton then excavated the site and found sections of the reliefs that decorated the wall of the building and portions of the stepped roof. Also a broken stone chariot wheel, some seven feet in diameter, from the sculpture on the roof was discovered. Finally, he found the statues of Mausolus and Artemisia that had stood at the pinnacle of the building. Today these works of art stand in the Mausoleum Room at the British Museum. There the images of Mausolus and his queen forever watch over the few broken remains of the beautiful tomb she built for him. Today, the massive castle still stands in Bodrum, and the polished stone and marble blocks of the Mausoleum can be spotted within the walls of the structure. Some of the sculptures survived and are today on display at the British Museum in London. These include fragment of statues and many slabs of the frieze showing the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons.

At the site of the Mausoleum itself, only the foundation remains of the once magnificent Wonder. Mausoleum of Halicarnassus - Livius Mausoleum of Halicarnassus Mausoleum Statue, believed to represent Maussolus Maussolus , the satrap of Caria , refounded Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum in southwestern Turkey) and made it his capital. In the Greek world, it was not unusual that a city founder (ktistes) received cultic honors and a tomb on the central square of the new town, and this also happened to Maussolus. After his death in 353 BCE, his wife Artemisia succeeded him and invited Greek artists to build a fitting tomb. The result was not just a fitting monument, it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World . Although the mausoleum itself was constructed of bricks, this was covered with splendid white Proconnesian marble. The impressive monument was copied on several occasions.

It is likely that the tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria and the Belevi Mausoleum were inspired by the building in Halicarnassus, which was known as the mausoleum. Model of the Mausoleum The building was designed by the famous architects Satyrus and Pytheos, who were inspired by traditional Anatolian and Greek architecture (cf. the Monument of the Nereids in Xanthus ) and later wrote a book on the monument they had created. This book was known to Roman authors like Pliny the Elder , who offers a description of the Mausoleum hof Halicarnassus. He says that four famous sculptors were involved: Scopas, Bryaxis, Timotheus, and Leochares, who were responsible for the decoration on the east, north, south, and west side. They made brilliant reliefs of an Amazonomachy, i.e. a battle between Greek warriors and Amazons. Pliny says: Before their task was completed, Queen Artemisia died. The four sculptors did not leave their work, however, until it was finished, considering that it was at once a memorial of their own fame and of the sculptor's art.

And, to this day even, it is undecided which of them has excelled. Amazonomachy Amazonomachy Lion From the bottom to the top, there was a large substructure (32x26 meter), a level that was surrounded by thirty-six columns (the Pteron), and, on top of it, Pliny says: There is a pyramid erected, equal in height to the building below, and formed of twenty-four steps, which gradually taper upwards towards the summit. Between the columns of the Pteron, there must have been many statues, and at the base of the pyramid, there were twenty-four lions. On the corners of the pyramid were statues of horsemen. Finally, on top of the monument was, according to Pliny, a platform, crowned with a representation of a quadriga (four-horse chariot) by Pythis. This addition makes the total height of the work one hundred and forty feet. The monument was surrounded by an enclosure (temenos). Today, the remains of this once grandiose monument offer a sad sight. The site did suffer already in Antiquity, but in the Middle Ages, the ruin was still impressive.

However, the proud tower was ultimately destroyed by the Rhodian knights in 1522. As a result, stones of the monument can today be found in the Castle of Bodrum . Lion Amazonomachy Artemisia en Maussolus? Two of the surviving statues, which may have stood right above the entrance in the east, between the columns of the Pteron, are especially striking. It is believed that they represent Artemisia and Maussolus, and were carved by Scopas. Yet, the identification is contested. Anyhow, few people have received a funeral monument that was more impressive than Maussolus'. The Greek author Lucian could appreciate it: in his Dialogues of the Dead, he made the Carian satrap that I have lying over me in Halicarnassus a gigantic monument such as no other dead person has, adorned in the finest way with statues of horses and men, carved most realistically from the best quality marble.

Related The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus | InfoMania Follow Us on Social Media The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus / History / Leave a comment One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a large and ornate mausoleum built both to honor and hold the remains of Mausolus of Caria. When Mausolus died in 353 BCE, his wife Artemisia ordered the construction of this vast structure in their capital city, Halicarnassus (now called Bodrum) in modern Turkey . Ultimately, both Mausolus and Artemisia were buried inside. The Mausoleum, considered one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World , retained its grandeur for nearly 1,800 years, until earthquakes in the 15th century destroyed part of the structure. Eventually, nearly all of the stone was taken away to be used in nearby building projects, particularly for a Crusader castle. Who Was Mausolus?

Upon the death of his father in 377 BCE, Mausolus became the satrap (a regional governor in the Persian Empire) for Caria. Although only a satrap, Mausolus was like a king in his realm, ruling for 24 years. Mausolus was descended from the indigenous herdsmen of the area, called Carians, but appreciated Greek culture and society. Thus, Mausolus encouraged the Carians to leave their lives as herdsmen and embrace the Greek way of life. Mausolus was also all about expansion. He moved his capital city from Mylasa to the coastal city of Halicarnassus and then worked on a number of projects to beautify the city, including building a large palace for himself. Mausolus was also politically savy and was thus able to add several nearby cities to his realm. When Mausolus died in 353 BCE, his wife Artemisia, who also happened to be his sister, was grief stricken. She wanted the most beautiful tomb built for her departed husband. Sparing no expense, she hired the very best sculptors and architects that money could buy.

It is unfortunate that Artemisia died just two years after her husband, in 351 BCE, not seeing the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus completed. What Did the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus Look Like? Built from about 353 to 350 BCE, there were five famous sculptors that worked on the exquisite tomb. Each sculptor had a portion that they were responsible for — Bryaxis (north side), Scopas (east side), Timotheus (south side), and Leochares (west side). The chariot on top was created by Pythis. The structure of the Mausoleum was made up of three parts: a square base on the bottom, 36 columns (9 on each side) in the middle, and then topped by a stepped pyramid that had 24 steps. All of this was covered in ornate carvings, with life-size and larger-than-life statues abounding. At the very top was the piece de resistance — the chariot. This 25-foot-high marble sculpture consisted of standing statues of both Mausolus and Artemisia riding in a chariot pulled by four horses.

Much of the Mausoleum was made out of marble and the entire structure reached 140 feet high. Although large, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was known more for its ornate sculptures and carvings. Most of these were painted in vibrant colors. The Collapse After 1,800 years, the long-lasting Mausoleum was destroyed by earthquakes that occurred during the 15th century CE in the region. During and after that time, much of the marble was carried away in order to build other buildings, most especially a Crusader fortress held by the Knights of St. John. Some of the elaborate sculptures were moved into the fortress as decoration. In 1522 CE, the crypt that for so long had safely held the remains of Mausolus and Artemisia was raided. Over time, people forgot exactly where the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus had stood. Houses were built on top. In the 1850s, British archaeologist Charles Newton recognized that some of the decorations at Bodrum Castle, as the Crusader fortress was now called, could have been from the famous Mausoleum.

After studying the area and excavating, Newton found the site of the Mausoleum. Today, the British Museum in London contains statues and relief slabs from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Share this:

Question: The site of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is situated in which modern day country?
Answer: Turkey